For creatives, every new project is a "next best starting point." To prove this theory out, Schermer partnered—then sequestered—myself and acclaimed design director/strategist, Joe Monnens. Together with key client and agency collaborators, we worked to discover and define the brand story behind the entity formed by the merger of two brilliant companies, Honeywell Quantum and Cambridge Quantum. While we didn't cure cancer or pinpoint a parallel universe (that's for later), we did crank out an opus-scale brand book and campaign guidelines. Here are just a few of the heady ideas and instructive insights we made less ephemeral and elusive, and a bit more human.